End of the School Year at Hogwarts
I really wish Bridget had followed me to my room, but I understand why she didn't.
Even though we are all adults, the society of this world is still very restrained compared to the society of the Supreme Realm.
Political marriages still exist, don't get me wrong.
But this practice greatly declined after Alysha became eleventh in the immortal rankings.
Alysha is my most powerful wife, with others not far behind her. She is the one in charge when I reincarnate.
After my clan became one of the ten most powerful in the Supreme Realm, political marriages saw a considerable increase for fear that the daughters of the great clans would fall into my clutches and that's kind of what happened because of that.
A few dozen girls seeking refuge in my territory fleeing arranged marriages and Alysha taking them in, we had periods of conflict, but with her being so close to the Old Monsters, the big families realized that they were the problem.
The big families were making their daughters curious about me and my clan and were basically guiding them to us.
I tried my best to refrain from these conflicts and almost none of them ended up becoming part of the clan, only offering shelter until they were powerful enough to have weight in their choice of partner.
Here, because of the lack of development in this world, people still don't understand that forced marriages don't have much of a future.
Ok, I may be biase because this change ocurred a few hundred thousands years ago in the Supreme Realm, but I think you get the gist.
And that's probably the dilemma Bridget is going through right now.
Curiosity is the easiest feeling to become romantic.
Even though she was curious about me and my provocation had awakened lust in her eyes, but in the end she still didn't have enough autonomy to make the decision.
Alone in my room I sat on the bed meditating, the injuries I received during the fight against the basilisk were relatively serious and with my low magical reserves I needed eight days to repair everything in a minimally adequate way.
When I left the room my body creaked under the newly healed bones.
I had missed several classes, but the Headmaster had declared that end-of-year exams were canceled for those who did not need to take OWLs or NEWTs.
In the end I hadn't lost much.
When I reappeared in the common room, some strange looks were directed my way, but I simply ignored them.
During breakfast this behavior continued, with the only difference being that Bridget had not been able to look in my direction since my proposal.
I tried talking to her over the next few days, but she seemed to be avoiding me.
Giving up, I acted as if nothing was happening around me.
Apparently there were rumors that I had been beaten by Gryffindor students because of Ginerva's disappearance.
Another news circulating around the castle was Ronald Weasley's heroism in saving her from the Chamber of Secrets.
In a way I was grateful that the Headmaster didn't mention my name, but he was giving the idiot a chance to continue showing off, almost as if endorsing the trashy behavior he was displaying.
The number of provocations and conflicts between Gryffindor and Slytherin increased in the last days of the school year until the Professors needed to intervene.
My first year at Hogwarts finally ended and with my suitcase packed I took the train back to the world.
I found an empty cabin and got comfortable.
From the station I would go to Diagon Alley and visit Gringotts to find out if I had any money that Patriarch Nott hadn't gotten hold of.
The trip was uneventful, the other Houses didn't want to sit with a Slytherin and Slytherin didn't want to sit with me.
When we were more or less halfway there the door to my cabin opened, waking me up from my thoughts.
Bridget was at the door looking at me guiltily.
"I didn't want to avoid you." – she declared in a low voice.
I smiled lightly at her.
"I completely understand, there's no need to apologize." – I said casually.
Even though I tried to comfort her with the casual tone, it made her even more embarrassed.
"I…" – she tried, but the words didn't seem to want to be said.
"I told you about my family." – she said finally.
I nodded.
"And during our conversations I explained mine, even if not directly." – I said half-jokingly.
Her reactions to finding out about my family had been too good to forget.
"It's not that... It's just that my father is trying to arrange a marriage for me, but since I'm the only heir he needs someone to marry into the family." – she explained.
"And I'm not a good candidate even if I'm a pureblood, since the Notts are in shambles and my father was the first generation in the country." – I replied using the words she had difficulty saying.
Bridget's embarrassment turned to discomfort when she heard my words.
"We've actually known each other for just over a month, you don't have to worry about offending me, I know how politics works." – I said trying to comfort her.
Despite my attempts, I apparently only managed to make her more guilty.
Bridget took a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to me.
While I was still processing what was supposed to be in it, she turned around and walked away.
When I opened the paper I noticed an address written on it.
She probably wanted to stay in touch and gave me her address so we could exchange letters.
Ah, letters.
What an inefficient way of communicating.
But I would soon adapt, I would need a few years to be able to manufacture communication amulets.
The journey continued until we reached King's Cross.
As far as I knew, only the purebloods still insisted on not adapting, most of the students and families who were at the station were dressed in 'muggle clothes', while the purebloods stood out clearly in the crowd.
With my worn-out clothes, I took the path to Diagon Alley, passing through the Leaky Cauldron.
They were two distinct worlds and not in the good sense of the expression.
Although London was not a beautiful city in my view, it was like leaving a world in progress and entering a stagnant world.
The architecture was much less refined on the magical side than on the mundane.
Gringotts was impressive compared to the rest, but the bank was owned by goblins.
I entered the bank and went to the reception.
"I would like to access my family accounts." – I said in a serious tone.
The very short man in front of me looked me up and down.
"Do you have the key to your family safe?" – he asked.
I shook my head.
"My uncle has the key, but he refused to give it to me." – I explained.
The goblin in front of me was visibly irritated by the situation.
"You will need to undergo a bloodline test, this will cost 10 Galleons." – he declared.
I nodded.
I picked up my suitcase and took out the money bag that was in it.
My body never needed to spend money beyond school supplies to attend Hogwarts, so the little my uncle gave me was always left over.
I had 13 galleons and some other change.
With the money in hand, the goblin guided me to a side room.
"What's your family's name, boy?" – the employee asked quickly.
"Mao." – I replied.
The goblin paused for a few seconds before returning to preparing the exam.
"Hold out your hand." – he ordered.
With his hand outstretched he took a needle and pierced my index finger.
"Kai Mao, son of Feilong Mao and Matilda Nott." – declared the goblin.
He started organizing some papers and soon took out a key and handed it to me.
"As Feilong Mao's heir you have access to the family property and his personal vault." - he said.
After a few more papers…
"The family home is at 61 Dean St, London. The family vault contains 2319 galleons." – he completed.
"I would like to take away my uncle's access to the vault, leave 2000 galleons in it and convert what's left to pounds, please." – I asked.
The goblin nodded as he did math.
"New lock for the safe, 50 galleons, that leaves 269 to convert to pounds which is 1883 pounds. Anything else kid?" – he declared.
"I believe that's all." – I replied.
"Wait here and I'll get your copy of the new safe key and bring your pounds." – he said leaving the room.
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